He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois, where he began learning the saxophone at the age of 12.
After leaving Wendell Phillips High School, he studied law at Chicago State University, playing in clubs in the evenings and at weekends.
The two performed vocal duets in a style similar to that later adopted by Washington with Brook Benton, and were briefly married;[2] he was her fifth husband.
[3] In the 1970s, he rejoined Hampton for tours of Europe, where he also played with Milt Buckner,[2] and he recorded for the French Black & Blue label.
He also performed with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1982,[2] and from the 1980s until his death with the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, as well as in clubs in New York City.